The cause of death is unknown, although a post-mortem may reveal more details, CNN reported.

Biggest Crocodile Boosted Conservation

The giant reptile's death is a loss to crocodile conservation in the country, Philippines' Environment Secretary Ramon Pajeto told CNN affiliate ABS-CBN News.

Indeed, the 2,370-pound (1,075-kilogram) Lolong may have inspired people in the Philippines to "perhaps respect crocodiles a little bit more,"Adam Britton, senior partner of the Australia-based crocodilian research and consulting group Big Gecko, wrote on his blog in June 2012. (See pictures of alligators and crocodiles.)

For instance, in 2011 Philippine Senate introduced a resolution to strengthen laws protecting the saltwater crocodile and the Philippine crocodile, a species deemed critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Lolong will still loom large even after death, however—Paje told ABS-CNN that the reptile will be stuffed and mounted.